Moistening device.



n. G. BEECHING.

MOISTENING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC- 7, 19L).

Patented Feb. 22,1916.

KWMZW E WITNESSES ur @FFTQ.

DAVID G. IBEECHING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MOISTENING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

Application filed. December 7, 1915. 7 Serial No. 65,527.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, DAVID G. BEEOHING, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Moistening Device, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to articles of stationery and has particular reference to substitutes for sponge cups for the moistening of the fingers, the sealing of envelops, or analogous purposes.

7 Among the objects of the invention is to provide a moistening device of peculiarly efllcient and sanitary nature, the same including a reservoir to hold a body of water and a flexible apron or diaphragm stretched across the top thereof and normally spaced from the water, said apron being depressible so as to touch or pass beneath a portion of the water for the purpose of carrying a film of water upwardly for subsequent use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which Figure l is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same on the line 22; and Fig. 3 is a perspective detail view of a slight modification.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, I show at 10 a disk-like reservoir made of any suitable size, form or material,

but preferably of a fiat nature adapted to lie in suitable position upon a desk, table or the like. This reservoir is adapted to contain a supply of water indicated at 11 for moistening purposes. At each end of the reservoir are formed a pair of shoulders or vertical ribs 12 spaced slightly from the corners of the reservoir.

At 13 is indicated a flexible apron or diaphragm stretched across the open top of the reservoir and adapted to be held in position thereon by any suitable means but permitting the central or main portion of the apron to be depressed under the pressure of a finger so as to dip into the body of water. As one suitable means for securing the apron in place, I show a continuous band 14 extend ing from one end of the apron proper around the bottom of the reservoir to the other end of the apron constituting the apron and the band as an endless belt, the same being held from lateral displacement by being fitted between the pairs of shoulders 12 at the opposite ends of the reservoir. The width of the apron is somewhat less than the open top of the reservoir, leaving open spaces between the edges of the apron and the side walls of the reservoir through which water may be introduced into the reservoir and through which also any water which may drip over the sides of the apron may flow freely back into the reservoir.

The apron is so constructed as to receive and hold thereon for a limited time a film or supply of water which is carried thereby upwardly from the main body of the water in the reservoir for use in Inoistening the fingers or for other similar purposes. To this end Iprovide one or more holes 15 through the apron through which water may pass freely upwardly when the apron is sufficiently depressed to enter the water. Around each ofthe holes is formed a shallow curb 15 whereby a certain quantity of water is retained upon the top of the apron when it returns automatically to its normal position, the water being thus held upon the surface of the apron in a film the depth of which depends upon the heights of the curbs. Another curb 16 is formed or carried upon the upper surface of the apron practically bounding the apron and surrounding all of the holes 15 and their curbs. The curb 16 is continuous and preferably of uniform height, slightly higher than the curbs first mentioned. The curb 16, in addition to outliningthe apron and defining its moist field, constitutes a guard means over which the operators fingers or the device being moistened may be drawn, and whereby the surplus moisture may be wiped from the devices for return to the reservoir.

Any water which may find its way over the end portions of the curb 16, and which might otherwise trickle along the band 14 and thereby wet the desk or table, will be returned to the reservoir by suitable means adjacent the outside of the curb. In Figs. 1 and 2 I show for this purpose a series of holes .17 located between the curb and the end walls of the reservoir. In Fig. 3, however, I show a rib 18 having its ends flush with the side edges of the band and hence any water dragged over the curb 16 will be checked by the rib and guided thereby along the ends of the rib back into the interior of the reservoir.

A device made in accordance with this invention is simple in construction, cheap of manufacture, easy to manipulate and thoroughly eflicient and sanitary in use. It will be noted also that it is of a somewhat ornamental appearance and the form adapts itfor use upon high class furniture without likelihood of defacing such furniture either by moisture or abrasion. The band in the form indicated serves to not only make the device practically noiseless upon the desk or table, but prevents unnecessary slipping thereon.

I claim p 1. In a moistening device, the combination of a reservoir for holding a supply of water, a flexible apron extending across the open top of the reservoir, means to hold the apron in substantially horizontal form spaced above the body of waterbut permitting a portion of the apron to be depressed into the water, said apron being provided with one or more holes therethrough through which water may pass upwardly to the upper surface of the apron, and means to retain a film of water upon the upper surface of the apron.

2. In a moistening device. the combination of a reservoir for holding a body of water and having an open top, a flexible apron extending across the open top of the reservoir and having a hole therethrough through which a quantity of water may pass upwardly when the apron is depressed into the water, means surrounding the hole serving to retain a certain portion of the water above the apron in a film, and means" connected to the ends of the apron to hold the same in place, substantially as set forth.

3. In a moistening device, the combina-' tion of a reservoir to hold a body of water, an apron extending across the open top of the reservoir and depressible into the body l of water, said apron having a hole formed therethrough to permit a small quantity of water to pass upwardly to the upper surface thereof, said apron including means surrounding said opening to retain a film of water on the upper surface of the apron when the apron returns to normal position, and means serving to hold the apron in place upon the reservoir.

4. In a moistening device, the combination of a reservoir to hold a supply of water and having an open top, an endless belt surrounding the reservoir and extending across the top of the same, said belt being depressible from the top into the water to receive thereon a film of water, and means carried upon the upper surface of the belt to retain said film of water thereon to be held by the belt in spaced relation to the supply.

5. In a moistening device, the combination of a reservoir to hold a supply of water, an endless belt surrounding the body and extending across the open top thereof, the part of the belt extending across the reservoir being flexible and resilient and depressible into the water but normally heldby its resiliency spaced above the water, said flexible part being adapted to receive upon its upper surface a film of water when depressed into the supply, and a continuous curb extending around that portion of the belt adapted to be depressed into the water and serving to retain a supply of water in the film upon the upper surface thereof.

6. The combination with a reservoir for water, of an endless belt surrounding the same, the upper portion of the belt constituting an apron depressible into the body of water to receive upon its upper surface a film of water, a continuous curb serving to retain said film of water upon the apron, and means between the curb and the end walls of the reservoir serving to return to the reservoir any water which may escape over the curb.

DAVID BEECHING; Witnesses;

GEO. L. B EELER, G. EMSLIE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. (2? 

